After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Yang Shen took a sip of tea and asked, "What kinds are they?"

Wang Shouren said, "The first is the saline-alkali land improvement project. Wuqing County still has a large area of ​​saline-alkali land. Now that we have your technology and experience, we can continue to improve it into arable land. However, the Ministry of Revenue said that the cost is too high. Wuqing County's arable land is not in short supply at the moment, so it is not necessary for the time being."

Yang Shen continued drinking his tea, remaining noncommittal.

Wang Shouren continued, "The second issue is the canal dredging project. The Ministry of Works sends people to dredge the canal every year, but the dredging is not thorough, and the waterway is still difficult to navigate. I wanted to organize the people to do the dredging myself, but the Ministry of Works said that if they approved the project, wouldn't it make it seem like they hadn't done their job well?"

He paused, his tone turning somewhat angry, and said, "What kind of talk is that? You haven't done your job well, so you won't let others do it?"

Yang Shen asked, "And the third one?"

Wang Shouren said, "The third issue is road construction. Neither the Ministry of Works nor the Ministry of Revenue approved it, saying that the cost would be too high. The existing official roads are sufficient, and there is no need to build a new one."

After listening, Yang Shen remained silent for a moment, then asked, "These three projects you reported are all beneficial to the country and its people. If you explain them properly to the officials, they should be approved, right?"

Wang Shouren said expressionlessly, "There's no chance."

Yang Shen: "What do you mean?"

Wang Shouren sighed and said, "I scolded the two officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue who were in charge of my work."

Yang Shen: ...

Wang Shouren said helplessly, "I know it's wrong to curse, but you didn't see those two people's faces. They're completely impervious to reason and only know how to spout bureaucratic nonsense. I told them that improving saline-alkali land would increase grain production, and they said the Ministry of Revenue didn't have the money. I told them that dredging would facilitate canal transport, and they said the Ministry of Works would have its own arrangements. I told them that road construction would benefit merchants and ordinary people, and they said that the existing official roads have been in use for over a hundred years without anyone dying..."

He got angrier and angrier as he spoke, and slammed his hand on the table: "I couldn't hold back anymore, so I cursed at them a few times."

Yang Shen sighed, "It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. You've insulted the person in charge; getting the project approved will be even more difficult now."

Wang Shouren smiled wryly: "Of course I know, but the word has already been spread at Zuixianlou today. So many managers heard me say I was going to build a road and complete it within three months. What am I going to do now?"

Yang Shen thought for a moment and said, "If the imperial court won't provide funds, can't the county government raise the money itself to repair the road?"

Wang Shouren shook his head: "After I took over Wuqing County, I discovered that the previous magistrates had spent all the treasury's silver, and now the account can't even scrape together a thousand taels."

Yang Shen said, "If you don't have money, just borrow it. Can't a county's finances afford to repair a road?"

Wang Shouren was stunned: "The county government borrows money? Is that even possible?"

Yang Shen looked at him: "Why not? How much money do you expect to need?"

Wang Shouren had already calculated it and immediately said, "It is fifty li from Wuqing to the capital by official road. If we build a gravel road three zhang wide, the cost of stone, soil, labor and all other expenses will add up to at least thirty thousand taels of silver."

Yang Shen nodded: "I'll lend you 30,000 taels."

Wang Shouren was taken aback: "You?"

Yang Shen said, "Our Zhu Ji Trading Company will be the first to benefit from the construction of this road. In the future, goods can be transported directly from the canal to the capital via the new road, arriving in just one day. The savings in transportation costs will be more than this amount per year."

He paused, then continued, "Of course, the entire Wuqing County will benefit as well. But that's a matter for later, let's not talk about it now. You've already made it clear that this matter must be done. I'll lend you money in the name of the trading company, and you go and recruit the people to prepare for construction."

Wang Shouren remained silent for a long time.

He looked at Yang Shen with a complex expression in his eyes.

"Yang, you've really helped me a lot."

Yang Shen waved his hand: "Don't say that! If you take office in Wuqing County and govern this place well, my business will be able to run smoothly. It's a win-win situation for us."

Wang Shouren stood up and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to him: "That's what you say, but I'll remember this favor."

Yang Shen also stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "There's no need for such formalities between us. Tomorrow I'll have Laifu deliver five thousand taels of silver to the county government, and the rest will be given to you in batches."

Wang Shouren nodded and turned to leave.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Yang Shen: "Hmm?"

Wang Shouren hesitated for a moment, then said, "Didn't I scold those two officials? They said that from now on, no project reports from Wuqing County will be approved."

Yang Shen raised an eyebrow: "So vengeful?"

Wang Shouren said with a wry smile, "There's nothing we can do about things in officialdom. I'm telling you this to remind you that someone might try to sabotage your business in Wuqing County. You need to be careful."

Yang Shen nodded: "Thank you for reminding me, I've got it."

-----------------

The next morning, Zhou Youcai led a dozen or so managers from the guild to Wuqing County.

Along the way, everyone was talking about it.

Manager Sun lifted the carriage curtain, looked at the barren fields outside, and couldn't help but ask, "Chairman Zhou, is what Chairman Yang said really true?"

Zhou Youcai didn't reply, he just stared ahead.

To be honest, he wasn't sure either.

Although Yang Shen spoke eloquently at Zuixianlou yesterday, it was ultimately just theoretical talk.

These days, who doesn't work their way up their business step by step?

Setting up a 50,000-mu cotton spinning base right off the bat sounds risky.

Liu Quan leaned closer and whispered, "Chairman Zhou, I heard that land is saline-alkali soil, and nothing grows there..."

Zhou Youcai glared at him: "Don't talk nonsense, we'll see when we get there."

After a bumpy two-hour ride, the carriage finally came into view of a newly built factory in the distance.

Everyone craned their necks out and saw that the factory buildings were neatly arranged in a row, numbering at least a dozen. Behind the factory buildings was a large open space that stretched to the horizon.

There were people working in the field, bent over, as if digging ditches.

The truck stopped in front of Zhu Ji Trading Company.

Everyone jumped out of the car and looked up to see the five large, gold-plated characters.

Manager Sun read aloud, "Zhu's Trading Company... Could it be that Chairman Yang has a powerful client surnamed Zhu behind him?"

Zhou Youcai stared at the plaque for a while without saying a word.

A man came out of the gate to greet them; it was Laifu.

"Gentlemen, please come in! The young master is entertaining distinguished guests and specifically instructed me to show you around."

The group followed Laifu inside.

As they passed through the residential area, everyone turned to look at them.

Three rows of neat brick houses stood side by side. Women were washing clothes at their doorways, and children were running around in the open space. When they saw them come in, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at them curiously.

Liu Quan said in a low voice, "This place is like a village or town."

Lai Fu laughed and said, "These are for the workers to live in. There are more than 500 households now, and we plan to expand next year."

Zhou Youcai's heart skipped a beat.

More than 500 households? How many people would that be?

It seems that Chairman Yang's claim of taking in over a thousand refugees was not an exaggeration.

Zhou Youcai asked, "Since we're already here, shouldn't we meet with Chairman Yang first?"

Laifu said, "Please don't rush, everyone. The young master said he would first take you to see the latest spinning wheels and looms."

After saying that, they continued walking and arrived at the factory area. They could hear a buzzing sound from a distance.

Lai Fu pushed open the door of a factory building: "Gentlemen, please come in!"